Much coverage has been devoted to the severe consequences of repeated brain injuries in adults, especially injuries related to professional athletics. Recently, some of that coverage has also indicated the severity of the effects of repeated brain injuries in college-level athletes as well as youth athletes. However, sports-related injuries are not the only source of brain injuries. Brain injuries can also occur from severe slip and walls, workplace-related accidents, vehicle collisions, and a variety of other incidents. Additionally, brain injuries can result from different medical conditions that potentially cause swelling in the brain. These types of brain injuries, called perinatal brain injuries when they affect full-term and premature infants, can be extremely harmful and may cause severe developmental or cognitive delays in newborns. According toCerebral Palsy News Today, theNational Institutes of Health will fund new research projects on potential treatments for perinatal brain injuries.

Goal of New Studies

One of the leading causes of perinatal brain injuries is known ashypoxia-ischemia (“HI”). HI occurs when an unborn child’s brain is deprived of oxygen for an extended period of time, thus causing the destruction of brain tissue. Such deprivation can cause the death of the unborn child or may lead to serious complications after birth such as cerebral palsy, epilepsy, developmental delays, motor impairments, or other significant impairments. The new studies will evaluate the best treatment methods for full-term and premature infants that have been exposed to HI as well as other perinatal brain injuries.

The lawsuit filed against the NFL by former professional football players has been one of the biggest stories in professional sports over the last several years. Many former players have suffered the repercussions associated withchronic traumatic encephalopathy (“CTE”), and the lawsuit they filed in conjunction with other players suffering various traumatic brain injuries has netted a $1 billion settlement – a settlement which the United States Supreme Court has twice been asked to review. Players, fans, parents, and lawmakers have joined in calling on the NFL to do more to address the seriousness of traumatic brain injuries in the sport. Recently,The New York Times has reported that the NFL has tried to answer that call by spending $100 million in addition to a previous $100 million for the development of new technology and research related to head injuries.

Purpose of Additional Funds

After immense pressure and public outcry that previous funds have been used for self-serving purposes instead of addressing issues they were meant to address, the NFL has promised an additional $100 million in funding which it says will be used for “independent medical research and engineering advances” that are meant to address “prevention, diagnosis and treatment of head injuries; enhance medical protocols; and further improve the way the game is taught and played by all who love it.” Previous funding had been used for new equipment and long-term studies related to the impact of repeated concussions and head traumas. Critics have pointed out that funding for helmet improvements has done little to improve player safety because helmets are primarily meant to prevent skull fractures and do little to address the concern of repeated concussion and related side effects. To avoid continuing criticism of the way the new funds will be used, the NFL has also said that details related to the use of the new funding will be shared publicly.

Earlier this year, a judge approved a $1 billion settlement on behalf of former professional football players against the National Football League. After being asked to reconsider the large award in this case, courts earlier this year upheld the award. According to an article inUSA Today, the United States Supreme Court has now received a second petition filed by other former players asking them to reconsider the settlement amount and reject the current sum based on how the verdict treats current brain injuries versus potential future brain injuries.

The New Petition’s Claim

The original ruling creates a fund from which injured players suffering from the consequences of repeated traumatic brain injuries can collect damages for medical treatment and other expenses related to such injuries, primarily the occurrence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (“CTE”). CTE is a condition that results from repeated traumatic brain injuries that can cause erratic behavior and other severe issues related to the brain. CTE cannot be diagnosed until after a person has died because it involves examining the brain for certain telltale signs of CTE, like protein deposits and other characteristics identifiable only after death. In cases where a player is deceased, their family can collect damages in a specified amount to help compensate for injuries related to traumatic brain injuries that result in CTE. The original settlement has a cut-off date for claims related to CTE of April 2015, meaning the fund created by the settlement will only pay out to those affected by injuries related to CTE prior to that date. While the fund created will continue to pay out for victims suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Lou Gehrig’s disease, and dementia – all also potential consequences of repeated traumatic brain injuries – it will not cover future instances of CTE. Former players have attempted to point out in their petition that this effectively bars similarly situated plaintiffs from benefiting from the settlement if they were found to have developed CTE after a death occurring after the cut-off date.

The initial media frenzy surrounding the well-known lawsuit from former professional football players against the National Football League highlighted the grave consequences of serious and repeated traumatic brain injuries, as well as their link to the development of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (“CTE”). Since the beginning of that lawsuit, other professional sports players have followed suit. Lawsuits have also arisen from college athletes and other nonprofessional sports players throughout the country. Recently,Sports Illustrated reported on alawsuit advocating for even younger victims of traumatic brain injuries during athletics has been filed against a national organization that provides youth football and cheer & dance programs. The lawsuit seeks to have CTE listed on the helmets of youth football players in the hopes that it will serve as a warning to parents and participants of the danger of traumatic brain injuries and their consequences for youth sports players.

The Issue

CTE is a concern for professional athletes, and more research has indicated it should also be a concern for youth sports players. One of the named plaintiffs in this lawsuit became suspicious about the potential long-term effects of sports-related traumatic brain injuries on her son, who tragically passed away after crashing his motorcycle at high speed. The crash was similar to other erratic, reckless behavior the man had demonstrated in the last two years of his life. Having heard about the professional sports lawsuits that were pending at the time of her son’s death, the mother consulted with plaintiffs in that lawsuit and became suspicious that her young son may have also suffered from CTE. She made the difficult decision to have her son’s brain tested, and results indicated that he did indeed suffer from CTE. Along with the mother of another young man that had committed suicide after also suffering from CTE, they filed the current lawsuit against the youth sports organization.

Recently, numerous lawsuits have been filed against athletic associations charged with protecting players’ safety in different sports. These high-profile lawsuits have shed more light on the severity of traumatic brain injuries and the potential repercussions of those injuries. With increased attention from the media related to the occurrence and treatment of traumatic brain injuries, medical professionals have been focusing on techniques to identify and treat sports-related brain injuries in an effort to mitigate the consequences that often result from such injuries. A recent article fromScientific American highlights the potential for spinal tap testing to help medical professionals understand the potential severity of a sports-related traumatic brain injury.

Understanding Risk Factors

Sports-related injuries often result in concussions, which can cause temporary symptoms of confusion, memory loss, headaches, and other mild indicators. For many people, the symptoms of a concussion will resolve on their own, though medical professionals often recommend certain precautions be taken to ensure that the concussion is not more severe than it was originally thought to be. Sometimes, these symptoms persist longer and result in a condition known as post-concussion syndrome. Basically,post-concussion syndrome is diagnosed by a medical professional based on symptoms that persist beyond the normal time frame for those related to a minor concussion.

Traumatic brain injuries have received a great deal more attention in the past few years thanks to high profile sports-related lawsuits centering on traumatic brain injuries sustained as a part of being involved in professional athletic competitions. With the increase in attention, and with new developments in identifying and treating traumatic brain injuries at early stages, medical insurance claims for traumatic brain injury treatments have increased. According to theUnited States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”), the most recent available data suggests that nearly 2.5 million people sustain traumatic brain injuries on an annual basis in this country. However, in many cases the cost of treating a traumatic brain injury is not confined to an initial visit to an emergency room after the injury has occurred. Individuals with traumatic brain injuries are more likely to require hospitalization after initial treatment, which has a huge impact on the cost of treating such injuries. The CDC says traumatic brain injuries are also a contributing factor for around 30 percent of all injury-related deaths in the United States, making prolonged treatment and hospitalization crucial in ensuring a person’s successful recovery in many situations.

Cost of Treatment

The true cost of treating a traumatic brain injury can be hard to establish and depends greatly on the individual victim’s circumstances. Not only are mounting medical bills a concern, but the injury may also require significant financial sacrifices from family members. Costs to treat traumatic brain injuries may reach well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars for an individual victim, especially in circumstances where rehabilitation or continued medical care is required. In many cases, victims may not have insurance or may not have adequate enough insurance coverage to pay for required treatment and follow-up medical care. Sometimes, a caregiver needs to take an extended leave from work in order to help meet a victim’s needs, which further drains a family’s financial resources.

Some of the immediate effects of traumatic brain injuries are noticeable once a victim has sustained such an injury. Severe brain injuries cause loss of consciousness and coma, which are generally graded using theGlasgow Coma Scale to establish the severity of the brain injury. Short-term side effects of such injuries can include short-term hospitalization and rehabilitation. These short-term consequences are the result of side effects that doctors can observe through extensive medical testing shortly after the injury occurs and in the weeks following the injury.

However, while new research may allow medical professionals to better diagnose traumatic brain injuries and predict their immediate consequences, it is still extremely difficult to anticipate the long-term side effects of traumatic brain injuries. Many of the long-term side effects do not manifest until weeks, months, years, or even decades after an injury has occurred. Unfortunately, medical science has little research to allow medical professionals to accurately predict how a traumatic brain injury will affect a specific individual. However, research ahs shown some of the more common effects that traumatic brain injuries – especially repeated injuries – can have on victims. It is important to keep these potential long-term side effects in mind when planning for a victim’s care, or when pursuing compensation from someone that caused such an injury.Brainline.org provides some information on the potential long-term side effects of moderate or severe traumatic brain injuries so that families and victims can plan accordingly.

A great deal of attention has recently been given to the importance of proper treatment of traumatic brain injury to help prevent further complications after the injury has occurred. Many times, traumatic brain injuries have lasting effects that cannot be predicted immediately after the injury, and some of the repercussions of these injuries are not seen for months or years after the injury has occurred. However, another concern related to traumatic brain injuries is the chance of death associated with them. According toMedscape, recent research published inThe New England Journal of Medicine has shown that decompressive surgery may decrease the risk of death caused by traumatic brain injury. The average age of participants in the study was 33, and most had sustained their injuries through severe falls, assaults, or vehicle accidents.

What does the research suggest?

Decompressive surgery, the medical term for which is decompressive craniectomy, is the removal of a large section of the skull after a traumatic brain injury has occurred to allow the brain to expand from swelling after an injury. In a study that randomly selected hundreds of patients from different hospitals throughout the world, known as the Randomised Evaluation of Surgery with Craniectomy for Uncontrollable Elevation of Intracranial Pressure, a decrease in deaths related to traumatic brain injury that caused brain swelling was noted. The study spanned several years and found that victims of traumatic brain injuries causing severe swelling from incidents such as severe falls or vehicle accidents who underwent decompressive surgery had a fatality rate of 26.9 percent compared to the control group’s fatality rate of 48.9 percent. Members of the control group did not undergo decompressive surgery.

According to a recent article from Medscape, U.S. Army investigators report that a quick and simple test performed with a pupillometer may be an effective way to test for the presence of a concussion and traumatic brain injury. A pupillometer is a tool that measures pupillary distance, and a new study has demonstrated that using this tool may provide medical professionals with new clues as to the existence of a traumatic brain injury and concussion. According to the report, using this tool may help medical professionals identify functional differences in pupillary distance that can be used to create a set of identifiable parameters that medical professionals can use to search for the presence of traumatic brain injuries. The initial testing that has led investigators to believe they may on the verge of identifying another useful tool in diagnosing traumatic brain injuries used dim lighting conditions to measure pupillary dilation, reaction time, and how long it took pupils to return to normal after using a light source as a stimulus. Basing findings against a control group with no history of traumatic brain injuries, investigators believe they have begun to identify markers that will help medical professionals quickly and accurately identify the presence of a traumatic brain injury that may have otherwise gone undetected.Continue reading

Several dozen well-known wrestlers that have worked for a well-known wrestling company have joined in a class-action suit against that company, according to the Chicago Tribune. The lawsuit alleges that the plaintiffs incurred “long term neurological injuries” as a direct result of working for the company because the company allegedly “routinely failed to care” for them “in any medically competent or meaningful manner.” The lawsuit also alleges that the company “fraudulently misrepresented and concealed” the nature of injuries sustained in the course of employment. The lawsuit has the potential to become another high profile legal action dealing with professional athletes that have allegedly sustained long-term brain injuries, and further highlights the risks associated with repeated traumatic brain injuries.

Like other lawsuits filed by groups of professional athletes, this new lawsuit alleges that repeated traumatic brain injuries have resulted in the development of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (“CTE”). CTE is a progressive form of a degenerative brain disease that is found in people, mostly athletes, that have a history of recurring brain trauma including concussions and asymptomatic subconcussive blows to the head. This degeneration can cause memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, issues with impulse control, depression, aggression, and eventually progressive dementia. Symptoms can start in as little as a few months after the athletic involvement, or may not appear until decades later.

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The purpose of this blog is to deliver news and information that is relevant to our areas of practice. The news and information reported on this blog represent the legal actions of attorneys throughout the United States. Our firm does not claim to represent plaintiffs in all of the lawsuits, settlements, and jury verdicts reported, only those noted as Levin & Perconti cases.